Microsoft Unveils Video Download Service
"Microsoft has launched a video download service that offers daily television programming, entertainment clips, and other digital content for viewing on Windows Mobile-based devices, it says.
"The MSN Video Downloads service draws on content from Microsoft partners such as CinemaNow, MSNBC.com, and TiVo, allowing subscribers to watch video on their smart phones, Pocket PCs, and Portable Media Centers."
Scarlet Pruitt. Microsoft Launches Mobile Video Downloads. PC World. March 30, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Intel, Bertelsmann Partner for P2P
"The world’s largest chipmaker, Intel, and a unit of German media giant Bertelsmann plan to cooperate in technology for downloading and sharing films, music clips and games from the Internet.
"Intel will make chips for PCs, notebooks and mobile phones that are compatible with Bertelsmann’s new online media file-sharing platform, capitalizing on a huge and growing public appetite for accessing music and other media online."
Reuters.Intel, Bertelsmann Link up for Online Media. News.com. March 30, 2005.
Skype Leveraged as Podcasting Tool
"Skype was created as a no-cost long-distance phone service. It does that very well. What it also allows you to do, if you’re just a little technically-minded and have a homebrew gene or two, is to record your Skype phone conversation, with the other person’s permission, to an audio file on a second computer. Once you’ve recorded the audio, you can edit out the uhms, ahs and pauses, compress the audio and then place it on the web for public consumption.
"I’ve been doing some experiments recording Skype interviews and am writing this article to pass along some tips and pointers."
Phil Shapiro. Using Skype as a Community Media Production Tool. No publisher. No date.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Skypecasters Turn Net Phones into Broadcasting System
"Calling all music players.
"A growing number of people are sharing the digital music on MP3 players and other music devices using freely available software and Skype, a free Internet phone service.
"The enthusiasts are borrowing heavily from another personal broadcasting phenomenon called podcasting, in which digital recordings are posted on a Web site for download to a variety of music players, including desktop PCs and portable gadgets like Apple Computer’s wildly popular iPod. ‘Skypecasters, as they call themselves, use Skype’s peer-to-peer telephone network to distribute recordings over the Internet directly to each other for free."
Ben Charny. VoIP Calls Get Podcast Treatment. News.com. March 29, 2005.
See also:
John Borland. A Novel Podcast. News.com. March 24, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
VeriSign Retains Control of .net Domain
"VeriSign has taken a major step toward retaining control of .net after beating out four rivals in a rating of the contenders seeking to run the Internet’s third-largest domain.
"VeriSign Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., ranked the highest in a report (.pdf) released late Monday by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the main oversight body for the domain-name system. ICANN now will begin negotiating a registry agreement with VeriSign, a process that is expected to last about two weeks.
"Once an agreement is reached, the selection of VeriSign as the registry for .net could go before ICANN’s board of directors as early as its scheduled meeting in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on April 8. ICANN also has begun accepting public comments on the report."
Matt Hicks. VeriSign Favored to Run Major Internet Domain. eWeek. March 29, 2005.
See also:
Jim Wagner and Michael Singer. VeriSign Retaining Stewardship of .net. InternetNews.com. March 29, 2005.
Anick Jesdanun. Panel: VeriSign Should Retain Domain Name Control. Globe and Mail. March 29, 2005.
ICANN. ICANN .net RFP Evaluation. (.pdf). March 2005.
ICANN. ICANN Publishes Telcordia Report on their Findings and Rankings for .NET. (Press Release.) March 28, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Brazil Choses Linux Over Microsoft
"Since taking office two years ago, President Luiz In�cio Lula da Silva has turned Brazil into a tropical outpost of the free software movement.
"Looking to save millions of dollars in royalties and licensing fees, Mr. da Silva has instructed government ministries and state-run companies to gradually switch from costly operating systems made by Microsoft and others to free operating systems, like Linux.
"On Mr. da Silva’s watch, Brazil has also become the first country to require any company or research institute that receives government financing to develop software to license it as open-source, meaning the underlying software code must be free to all."
Todd Benson. Brazil: Free Software’s Biggest and Best Friend. News.com. March 29, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Writers Settle Tasini Case for $18 Million
"A group of companies that operate electronic databases have agreed to pay freelance writers up to $18 million to settle copyright infringement claims brought under a class action lawsuit, according to a settlement announced Tuesday."
Associated Press. Writers Settle with Databases for $18M. Business Week Online. March 29, 2005.
Editor’s Note: Jonathan Tasini, formerly president of the National Writers Union and the named defendant in the Supreme Court case, is now president and executive director of the Creators Federation.
See also:
Richard Wiggins. The Tasini Decision: A Victory for No One. LLRX.com. Aug. 15, 2001.
Carol Ebbinghouse. Tasini Case Final Decision: Authors Win. Information Today. June 28, 2001.
Rachel Metz. Freelancers Hit the Jackpot. Wired News. March 29, 2004.
Legal Information Institute. New York Times Co., Inc., et al. v. Tasini et al.. June 25, 2001.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
COPYCENSE 